Neither love nor money

Millions of couples in Britain are kept together by little more than their bank balance, new research from Skipton Building Society reveals.

11:34 21 July 2005

Millions of couples in Britain are kept together by little more than their bank balance, new research from Skipton Building Society reveals.

As property prices get higher and the level of personal debt in Britain breaks the 1 trillion barrier, many people are finding that they are simply unable to leave their partner for financial reasons.

A third of women say that they could not afford their mortgage repayments if they were to split from their partner, with financial interdependence tying together one person in eleven who otherwise would leave their partner.

Money is the root of many relationship problems, with two thirds of people placing the blame for unhappily cohabiting couples on high property prices.

Jennifer Holloway from Skipton expressed the dilemma of financially shackled couples, stating: "There's no doubting two incomes are better than one and by sharing the cost of living, couples can have a nicer lifestyle - but at what cost to their relationship."

Women are worst affected, with more than double the amount of women than men saying that they could not cope with their mortgage were they to split from their partner and 16 times as many saying they would be financially dependent on their ex.